Alice Cooper to Star in NBC’s Live ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Musical

Alice Cooper, the son of a preacher, is set to put his religious upbringing to the test. He's going to portray King Herod in made-for-TV production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Directed by five-time Tony Award nominee David Leveaux, Jesus Christ Superstar Live will air on NBC, fittingly, on Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018.

It will be the second time Cooper has portrayed the king, whose sole number is "King Herod's Song (Try it and See)." A recording that was released in 2000 featured Cooper, in the same role, joining the cast of a 1996 London revival of the show.

Alice Cooper Performs "King Herod's Song (Try it and See)"

“Alice Cooper, whose theatricality is the stuff of legend, is the perfect rock star to play Herod in our live production,” Robert Greenblatt of NBC Entertainment said (via The Hollywood Reporter). “Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote a showstopping musical number for Herod, and we all look forward to the ‘King of Shock Rock’ taking on the King of Judea. As the casting for Superstar ramps up, we can feel the excitement building for this brand new concert experience of what has long been considered the original rock musical.”

"Excited to join the cast of @NBC’s #JesusChristSuperstar Live as King Herod!" Cooper tweeted. "Get ready to rock out this Easter Sunday."

Back in 2014, former Sex PistolJohn "Johnny Rotten" Lydon, who famously called himself the Antichrist in "Anarchy in the U.K.," had signed on to play King Herod in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar that had planned to tour arenas across North America. However, the entire tour was scrapped less than two weeks before the first performance.